Trainee assessment videos

We chose simple suture and instrument tie as the task for evaluation. A simple suture and knot tie facilitated recruitment of surgeons from a wide range of surgical specialties and allowed raters to evaluate multiple trainees during a single rating session. We developed 10 videos of trainees performing the task on a plastic suture model for evaluation. The trainees were selected to include a range of training levels, from third-year medical students to third-year general surgery residents. The videos showed only the trainees’ gloved hands in the operative field to allow for blinded assessments. The videos were presented to raters in a random sequence. Raters watched each video once and then completed all 3 assessment tools. The process was repeated until all 10 videos had been rated.